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Dorohedoro, Vol. 13

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By Q Hayashida. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in a Shogakukan magazine to be named later. Released in North America by Viz.

Most of the recent volumes of Dorohedoro have consisted of a lot of what readers are looking for with the series (gore, comedy, the odd gyoza mention) along with small dabs of plot and one big thing that everyone will remember after they finish the book. Last time it was Nikaido’s flashback, which was showing us how traumatized she was as a child and the circumstances that led to her use (and misuse) of her time magic. And I’m pretty sure that after Volume 13, everyone will be discussing what happens in the final moments with Kai and Natsuki. But let’s try to mention a few other things first.

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Given the traumatic nature of what happens at the end of this volume, I knew we would have some humor in here somewhere, and a lot of it comes from seeing genderbent Nikaido, who has to disguise herself using magic to enter En’s mansion, now taken over by the Cross-Eyes. In her male body, she’s still her regular self, and is I believe what anime fans describe as a “keet”. This leads to more fun when she runs into Kai/Caiman, who is still having memory issues and has difficulty dealing with Nikaido being so informal. Particularly when the spell wears off and she transforms back into her buff, stacked, naked body in front of him. (This is a strong volume for fans of Dorohedoro’s fanservice – Nikaido fights as a man bare-chested for a while, and we also see Noi naked after her recovery.

Yes, Noi and Shin have been rescued from being mushroom’d at the end of the last volume. The fact that there’s yet another mysterious En family member with tremendous powers is played for laughs here – this man is able to become invisible, but does too good a job, so people forget he’s there after a while. She’s able to use smoke to heal Shin (via a full-on kiss, which I think startles Shin more than anything else) and they’re back in action. Actually, a great deal of this volume is the En family regrouping, and trying to resurrect their leader. Hasn’t happened yet, though.

And now let’s talk Natsuki. She’s been one of the most optimistic, hopeful and fun characters in the last few volumes, more of a mascot than a real threat. That changes here when a crisis shows off her repressed magic, which has almost godlike defensive capabilities. She’s delighted, but the rest of the cross-eyes are terrified – they know what Kai does to people with strong magic, and immediately plot to get her away from him. But in the end this is *not* particularly an optimistic, hopeful manga, and Natsuki is not one of the main characters. And thus, right before she leaves she runs into Kai, and gets brutally torn apart, in one of the goriest bits of the entire volume. And unlike En, I’m pretty sure she won’t be coming back. Kai is scary. I miss Caiman.

I expect the fallout from this will take up a chunk of Vol. 14, along with Nikaido’s continued practice of her magic and the search for En’s devil-shaped tumor. In the meantime, another fun yet brutal volume of Dorohedoro, which even in its most confusing moments still manages to be exhilarating through sheer verve.

The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan

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The World of the Shining PrinceAuthor: Ivan Morris
Publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781568360294
Released: June 1994
Original release: 1964

Several years ago I read the entirety of The Tale of Genji, a novel written by Murasaki Shikibu in the eleventh century. It was a pretty big undertaking, but absolutely worth it. I love the novel. Ever since finishing The Tale of Genji for the first time, I’ve been meaning to read Ivan Morris’ The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan. The volume takes its title from the hero of The Tale of Genji who is referred to as the shining prince due to his exquisite visage and exceptional character. In many ways, The World of the Shining Prince serves as a companion to The Tale of Genji as Morris explores the historical reality of the aristocracy of Heian-era Japan. The World of the Shining Prince was originally published in 1964. Beginning in 1994, later editions of the work also include an introduction by Barbara Ruch. I recently read and was rather impressed by another of Morris’ works, The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan, and so was looking forward to reading The World of the Shining Prince even more.

In addition to the introductions, preface, appendices, bibliography, and topical index, The World of the Shining Prince examines a number of different aspects of tenth-century Japan, Heian court society, and The Tale of Genji within it ten chapters. Morris begins with a broad overview of the era in the first chapter, “The Heian Period.” Though the Heian Period lasted from 782 to 1167, The World of the Shining Prince largely, but not exclusively, focuses on the 900s. The next chapter, “The Setting” looks at Heian architecture, city planning, and geography. From there Morris delves into more detailed analysis of Heian culture in the chapters “Politics and Society,” “Religions,” and “Superstitions.” Next, attention is specifically turned to the Heian nobility and aristocracy. “The Good People and Their Lives” details day-to-day activities, amusements, and ceremonies while “The Cult of Beauty” looks at the particular aesthetics of the era. The eighth chapter, “The Women of Heian and their Relations with Men” outlines household and family structures as well as the place of romantic liaisons. The World of the Shining Prince concludes with chapters devoted to Murasaki Shikibu and to The Tale of Genji itself.

Although written more than five decades ago, The World of the Shining Prince has held up remarkably well. Admittedly, it is nearly impossible to write a completely objective cultural study–Morris’ analysis is informed and influenced by his own cultural subjectivity. In the half-century since The World of the Shining Prince was written, Western thought and scholarly approaches to cultural analysis have also changed. (For example, as Ruch mentions in her introduction, views on gender politics and the relationship between religion and superstition has shifted over the years.) The World of the Shining Prince is a product of its time, but that doesn’t at all diminish its value as a resource on Heian-era Japan, and more specifically on Japanese court life in the tenth century. Additionally, the volume is written with a general audience in mind. It is quite approachable, even for the average reader, and is engagingly written. Granted, the subject mater of The World of the Shining Prince is fascinating to being with.

Although Morris does provide some important general context within which he situates The World of the Shining Prince, the volume’s scope is relatively narrow, concentrating on a very specific part of Heian society. However, this specificity also allows him to explore that subject from several different perspectives. Information about the Heian Period is somewhat limited, especially in regards to the lower classes, which is another reason that The World of the Shining Prince is so focused on the era’s nobility. The Tale of Genji is a major source for Morris’ study of the Heian-era Japan, as are other works of contemporary literature–The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon especially features prominently–as well as diaries and court records from the time period. The World of the Shining Prince is an extremely informative and absorbing work. It’s more than just a companion to The Tale of Genji and reaches beyond its literary connections. The volume should appeal to anyone interested in learning more about classical  Japanese history.

Pick of the Week: Arakawa & More

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potsMJ: There isn’t a ton of manga I’m dying to buy this week, but enough that I did have to make a relatively difficult choice. In the end, I’ve embraced a favorite artist, even if it might not be the work I’m most interested in seeing from her–and that would be Hiromu Arakawa and her manga adaptation of The Heroic Legend of Arslan, debuting this week from Kodansha Comics. Since I love Arakawa’s storytelling at least as much as her art, it’s not giving me what I want most (*cough* Silver Spoon *cough*) but I’ll take it.

SEAN: Looking forward to Arslan, but my heart, as ever, belongs to Dorohedoro. Though given the kind of manga it is, it’s possible that my heart may have already been removed. And used as a mask. Or in pies.

ASH: It may be a relatively quiet week for new manga but I’m still interested in quite a few of the releases–the most recent volume of Dorohedoro and the debut of The Heroic Legend of Arslan being only two of them. But my pick for the week is unquestionably Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son. In addition to being a lovely and sensitive story about identity and growing up, it’s also a series that is personally very meaningful to me.

MICHELLE: And I’ll bring it ’round again to Arslan. I haven’t read anything of Arakawa’s aside from Fullmetal Alchemist, so I’m interested to see what she’ll do with this story.

ANNA: The third volume of Gangsta. is coming out this week! I really enjoyed the first two volumes of this stylish and intriguing seinen title, and I’m hoping that the third volume delves into some additional back story about the main characters.

What looks good to you this week?

An updated look at Crunchyroll Manga

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When I first looked at Crunchyroll’s new manga lineup back in October, it consisted of about 10 Kodansha titles, and its main purpose was essentially to be the Kodansha equivalent of Viz’s Jump – get the most popular titles out weekly to discourage scanlators. (Which has worked, to a degree – not necessarily for speed but for accuracy. I know a few Attack on Titan readers who wait for CR as it will be coherent.) Now, 10 months later, we have almost fifty different titles on the site. What’s been going on?

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Kodansha still has the largest presence on the site, and are still adding new titles that may interest the North American reader, such as the new Onizuka spinoff/continuation. It’s still predominately Shonen Magazine and its subsidiaries, but there has been an effort to add some seinen as well, notably the Morning title Investor Z. (By the way, not all of the licensing is through Kodansha – a large number of the titles on the site seem to be licensed via ‘Cork’, including the Anno ones. Investor Z is one of those.) Most of their titles are ongoing concerns – updated weekly or monthly as their Japanese fellows are. I do note A Town Where You Live has finished, but Vols. 1-11 still seem to be absent from the site – going backwards is not Kodansha’s priority.

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Moyoco Anno has agreed to let several of her more obscure titles be translated on Crunchyroll, from a variety of genres. Most originally ran in the josei magazine Feel Young in Japan, which her her primary outlet these days, though The Diary of Ochibi is a short one-pages that runs in a newspaper.

Then there’s the former heavy movers and shakers at JManga, all of whom are now involved with Crunchyroll to some degree. LEED Publishing, which is Takao Saito’s company, has put out four of its already finished volumes from JManga onto Crunchyroll, I suspect with the same translation. They’re good series, though. I particularly liked Doll. Shonen Gahosha has both old and new titles – Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru and Sun-Ken Rock are basically “license rescues” from JManga that are now on Crunchyroll – not a surprise given they’re both two of the companies more popular unlicensed in print titles – Sun-Ken Rock for its violent content, most likely, and Soredemo for its oddness. They also have Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which Seven Seas is releasing in print here, and Spirit Circle, which gives the appearance of being a fluffy comedy, but… isn’t.

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And then there’s Futabasha, which now has the 2nd most titles on the site thanks to a big push these past few months. Futabasha was the biggest player in JManga as well, but we’re not seeing any of the content that was on there in the past. These are mostly new, ongoing series that run in their main magazine, Manga Action, which it’s pushing for similar reasons to Kodansha. It’s a very different genre, though – Manga Action is seinen and it shows. Even the one title they have by a shoujo author is that author’s debut in a seinen market. As you can see by the cover image of Inside Mari, which is by the author of Flowers of Evil, there’s a lot more ‘sex and violence’ in Futabasha’s titles – a number of what I’d call ‘sex comedies’ and several violent murder mysteries. Futabasha doesn’t really have much shonen, which may be why they’ve always found it hard to grab a foothold in North America, but it’s good to see them making these titles available for curious readers.

The odd title out on this list is The Tenth Prism, licensed via Cork, which is actually a seinen Shogakukan title, running in Big Comic Spirits. It’s by the author of Firefighter Daigo of Company M, so the author isn’t unknown here. Sometimes with licensing subsidiaries you can see titles in places you’d never expect, which is certainly what I’m seeing here.

What can we see from this list, now that it’s so heavily expanded? Crunchyroll Manga is very much catering to male readers. Almost exclusively, I’d say. There’s only one or two titles on there that might be classed as shoujo, and Kodansha, for all that they’re adding Magazine titles, hasn’t put up any ongoing series from Nakayoshi or Betsufure. Futabasha has a shoujo magazine as well, but we’ve seen nothing from it. And the josei we’re seeing, via Moyoco Anno, is for the adult female reader. I’d like to see a few titles for younger female readers on here. Other than that, the main emphasis for most of these series is simulpub – get them out fast to beat the scanlators. It usually doesn’t beat them, as scanlators work from illegal raws released early, but it’s a better product, so the incentive is to wait.

Will Crunchyroll have expanded even more in 10 months time? And which of their newer titles is your favorite?

Bookshelf Briefs 8/18/14

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This week, Sean, Anna, & Michelle look at recent releases from Viz Media and Seven Seas.

alice-nightmareAlice in the Country of Clover: Nightmare Trilogy, Vol. 1 | By QuinRose and Job | Seven Seas – Another month, another Alice book. This one has, as you may imagine, Nightmare as the love interest, and mostly delves into Alice being upset and angry that people are afraid of him, and trying to find ways to get them to see the real man. Who is still a giant loser at times, so he’s not helping. Also not helping is the art in this book, which is some of the weakest I’ve seen in the entire series. That does not bode well given this is the first of three. On the bright side, Joker shows up, continuing to force Alice to truly examine her heart and feelings (big sister doesn’t come into play here). There’s also some amusing humor, mostly at Nightmare’s expense. Still, in the end this is one of the weaker entries in the Alice books. – Sean Gaffney

blackrosealiceBlack Rose Alice, Vol. 1 | By Setona Mizushiro | Viz Media – If I were to tell you that this is a shoujo series about vampires, you might think that you’d know what to expect. It’s not, after all, a unique premise. Except that’s exactly what Black Rose Alice is: unique. Dimitri Lewandoski is an ambitious tenor in Vienna in 1908 when he is killed in an accident and ultimately brought back to life by a vampire master who has entrusted him with the procreation of the species. The horror and the “colonization” spur a personality shift in Dimitri, and by the end of the volume he’s striking a bargain that might reanimate the body of his true love, lifeless for a hundred years. That’s pretty strange stuff, and I haven’t even mentioned the bugs! Happily, it’s not too strange and when I finished the volume I was left with a profound sense of “What? That’s it?! I want more!” And that is perhaps the highest recommendation I can give. – Michelle Smith

nura22Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 22 | By Hiroshi Shiibashi | Viz Media – We’ve just finished a major fight arc, and are about to head into what will be the final arc, so in a sense this is the last breather volume in the series. Like many breather volumes in shonen fighting series, it feels a bit out of place at times, with both heroes and villains putting all their ducks in a row. We do get to see an extensive battle between Nura and a priest who is upset at a forced sword going to an evil Ayakashi (it’s OK, Nura’s one of the GOOD evil Ayakashi), and an attempt on both sides to unite previously fractured clans. That said, Kana and the rest of the class’s presence has become token, and even Tsurara looks to be left behind for the big fight. Nura is starting to overstay its welcome, so it’s good it will be ending soon. – Sean Gaffney

oresamateacher16Oresama Teacher, Vol 16 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – The evil student council in Oresama Teacher is generally surprisingly ineffective, sending agents one by one to take down the public morals club, only to find that the dimwitted delinquents in the public morals club end up befriending their enemy. Here we have more of an orchestrated campaign, as blackmail letters start arriving and picking off the public morals club one by one. Soon only Mafuyu and Hayasaka are left to battle things out with the return of their fiendish faculty mentor Saeki. I see troubled times ahead for Yui, as the wanna be ninja has joined his former masters. Oresama Teacher is always silly diverting fun that pays off for the reader. I was happy to see bancho and his pigeon make an appearance in this volume as well. This is the only long-running comedy series that has managed to hang on to my full attention, and I enjoy the ridiculous situations and occasional bursts of violence featured in each volume. – Anna N

toriko23Toriko, Vol. 23 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro| Viz Media – It’s impressive how even in the middle of what is basically a fight between two opposing sides firing power attacks, Toriko can continue to be all about food. The one thing that gets our heroes to work together and take out the monster this time is hearing that the more damage it takes, the more delicious its flesh will taste. And of course there’s Komatsu, who was given ten minutes to make an antidote simpler to cook, took five minutes, then spent the rest of the time figuring out how to make it tastier. It’s no wonder he seems to have picked up another harem member, this one a nameless cook arriving with Setsuno. The way it deals with food makes Toriko a consistent fun title to read. – Sean Gaffney

My Week in Manga: August 11-August 17, 2014

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My News and Reviews

So, as I briefly mentioned in my anniversary post this morning, my partners and I very recently became parents. We all ended up spending most of last week at the hospital; needless to say I was a bit preoccupied. But everyone is happy, healthy, and at home now, so everything’s good. Thankfully, I already had a couple of posts typed up and ready to go. Otherwise, it would have been a very quiet week here at Experiments in Manga since I didn’t get much reading or writing done at all. (For some reason.)

Anyway, I did somehow manage to post two reviews last week! First up was Denise Schroeder’s wonderful, delightful, and charming short comic Before You Go. The review is the latest installment in my Year of Yuri monthly manga review project, which focuses on manga and other comics with lesbian and yuri elements. Also reviewed last week was Jamie Lynn Lano’s memoir The Princess of Tennis: My Year Working in Japan As an Assistant Manga Artist. It’s a very interesting and informative book about the manga industry and Japan. The book can currently be purchased through Sparkler Monthly’s Distro program.

Despite being rather busy last week, I did come across a few things online that made for interesting reading. At Manga Connection, Manjiorin wraps up her Swan review project. The fourth Manga Studies column at Comics forum has been posted, focusing on Ishiko Junzō and gekiga. Joe McCulloch has a piece on the early work of Ryōichi Ikegami at The Comics Journal. Mangabrog has a translation of a conversation between Usamaru Furuya and Inio Asano. Also highly recommended is Comics Alliance’s interview with Vertical’s Ed Chavez.

Quick Takes

Gangsta3Gangsta, Volume 3 by Kohske. As can probably be inferred from the cover, much of the third volume of Gangsta delves into the pasts of Nic and Worick, how they met, and their somewhat complicated relationship with each other. In the process more is revealed about the history of Ergastulum and the Twilights, too. Gangsta is a very violent series. Even when Nic and Worick were young they found themselves surrounded by death in a harsh environment of political turmoil. In the case of Nic, he was being kept by a mercenary group hired to act as bodyguards to Worick’s family; he’s done plenty of killing of his own. He apparently has always been somewhat terrifying. The beginnings of Nic and Worick’s exceptionally close connection are seen in this volume. Neither of them come from a good family situation, both of them are seen as socially unacceptable (Nic because he’s a Twilight, Worick because he’s a bastard son), and both of them are physically abused by those who should care about them. Though they get off to a rough start, the two broken young men are able to find some solace in each other’s company. Nic and Worick fascinate me; I’m glad to have gotten more of their backstory in the third volume. I’ve enjoyed Gangsta from the very beginning and continue to do so.

Love Full of ScarsLove Full of Scars by Psyche Delico. Okay. So, Love Full of Scars is a collection of utterly ridiculous and absurd boys’ love stories. The over-the-top humor certainly won’t be to every reader’s taste, but I loved the volume. Though I largely enjoyed all of the short manga included in Love Full of Scars, my favorite was probably the titular story. (It also happens to be the longest, with several chapters devoted to it and side stories of its own.) Kanda is a high school punk who has a crush on Uesaka, the school’s biggest badass. The problem is that every time Kanda tries to confess his feelings, he ends up picking a fight instead. Fortunately, Uesaka is able to see through all of Kanda’s posing. They’re both delinquents so more often than not communicating with their fists and punching each other in the face helps them to solve their differences. The sex in Love Full of Scars, when and if it actually happens, usually ends up being rather awkward and incredibly earnest at the same time. The stories in the collection generally avoid the stereotypical seme/uke dynamics of the boys’ love genre. There is also a bit of a fixation on facial and body hair. And, well, pubic hair, too, for that matter. (Granted, that’s mostly for the sake of gag.) The manga is rough, rude, and raunchy, but I found it to be highly amusing and entertaining.

Tonari no Seki-kunTonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time directed by Yūji Mutoh. The anime adaptation of Takuma Morishige’s manga series My Neighbor Seki had completely slipped under my radar until Vertical announced that it had licensed the manga. My curiosity was piqued, so I decided to watch the anime while waiting for the manga to be released. The anime was an absolute delight; I wish there was more! I’m definitely looking forward to reading the manga next year. The premise of the series is disarmingly simple. Yokoi and Seki sit next to each other in the back of their high school classroom. But instead of studying, Seki occupies himself at his desk in all sorts of ways, messing around with erasers, shogi pieces, knitting, and so on. The scenarios are actually all very imaginative, creative, and elaborate. Try as she might, Yokoi can’t help but be caught up whatever it is Seki is doing, so she doesn’t get much studying done, either. The anime is much more entertaining than I’ve probably made it sound. Each episode is under eight minutes and they are all very funny. There is very little dialogue in the series. Instead, the narrative relies very heavily on Yokoi’s internal monologue. Yokoi’s voice actress, Kana Hanazawa, does a fantastic job with the role–she is exceptionally dynamic and expressive.

Random Musings: Four Years of Experiments in Manga

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I have been writing about manga, Japanese literature, and other related (and occasionally not-so-related) subjects here at Experiments in Manga for four years now. That’s…kind of incredible in its own small way. I don’t generally delve too deeply into my personal life on the blog, but this past year has been particularly momentous for me, and not just because I’ve managed to keep Experiments in Manga going for so long.

Over the last year or so, I’ve been doing all sorts of coming out both online and off. I’m very fortunate to be in a place in my life where I am able to be more open about who I am, and I’m probably the happiest that I have ever been because of it. My family, friends, and coworkers have all been amazingly supportive. I’m also currently a month into recovering from a major surgery that (without going into all of the gory details) has improved my quality of life tremendously. And a little less than a week ago I and my partners became parents. So, yeah, there have been some big changes in my life over the last year!

As for Experiments in Manga, there have been some changes here, too. Probably the most noteworthy is that Experiments in Manga joined the Manga Bookshelf family of blogs and has now been a part of that cohort for a year. In addition to keeping up with my writing at Experiments in Manga, I also regularly participate in Manga Bookshelf’s group posts. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of Manga Bookshelf and working more closely with other manga bloggers. It’s brought Experiments in Manga more readers and commenters, too, which for the most part has been a lot of fun.

After almost two years of effort, I was finally able to wrap up my Blade of the Immortal review project in November. It was a good and challenging experience for me, and one that I wanted to repeat. So I let Experiments in Manga’s readers pick which manga I would tackle next. In a few months I’ll be wrapping up my Year of Yuri monthly review project and once again I’ll be putting my next review project up for a vote. I also had a couple of smaller, informal review projects over the past year. Back in January I celebrated my very own “Usamaru Furuya Week” by reviewing everything of his available in English that I hadn’t already. And every weekend in March I reviewed a volume of Takehiko Inoue’s phenomenal manga Real. (Because March equals basketball, or something like that.)

Last year saw more queer content discussed at Experiments in Manga than ever before. It wasn’t entirely done intentionally (well, except for the Year of Yuri project), but I’ll admit that it did make me happy. Many of those posts, like my random musings on a lecture about queer theory, Japanese literature, and translation and my review of Jeffery Angles’ Writing the Love of Boys: Origins of Bishōnen Culture in Modernist Japanese Literature, have been some of my most popular, or at least most frequently visited. Gengoroh Tagame also appears to be a perennial favorite; quite a bit of interest continues to be shown in my Two from Tagame post, which looks at two of his manga released relatively recently in English: Endless Game and Gunji.

Actually, one of the posts that I was personally very satisfied with from last year, a Spotlight on Kaita Murayama, was also somewhat queer-related. In general, I’ve been writing more of these Random Musings features. I’ve really enjoyed working on these posts. They allow me to be a little more freeform and talk about things that aren’t necessarily suited for the format that I currently use for my in-depth reviews. Other non-reviews that haven’t yet been mentioned that I was particularly happy with or that were otherwise well received include my thoughts on TCAF 2014, tips on finding manga in libraries, and a list of some of the notable releases of 2013. I had never done one of these end-of-the-year lists before, but it was surprisingly fun, so I’ll most likely do it again.

As for the in-depth reviews from the last year that seemed to be especially popular, I was a little surprised to see the amount of interest shown in some of the nonfiction titles that I read, such as The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan and The Way of Taiko (both of which were great). My review of the omnibus of the Mobile Suit Gundam trilogy of novels received a fair amount of attention, too. The five manga reviews from the past year that were the most frequently visited included Saki Nakagawa’s Attack on Titan: Junior High, Volume 1, Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro, Torajiro Kishi’s Maka-Maka: Sex, Life, and Communication, Volume 1, Yuma Ando and Yuki Sato’s Sherlock Bones, Volume 1, and Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga, Omnibus 1.

By this point I seem to have settled into a fairly predictable posting schedule at Experiments in Manga. Each week sees at least three or four posts, occasionally more if I have some sort of project going on or am feeling particularly inspired. I think I’ve said this every year so far, but I really would love to write more than I do. Sadly, my free time is very limited and from here on out (with the kidling and all) it will be even more so. Right now three to four posts a week still seems like it should be a reasonable and manageable pace for me, though.

I’ve said this every year, too, but as always I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all of the readers of Experiments in Manga, both new and old. I mostly write for myself, but it is extremely satisfying to know that Experiments in Manga is at least occasionally interesting or helpful to other people as well. There certainly is plenty of room for improvement–I know there are some things that I don’t do very well and need to work on–but generally I’ve been very happy with the continued evolution of Experiments in Manga and the general direction the site has been taking. Thank you all for your support over the last year. Here’s hoping that the next one will be even better!

Kaze Hikaru Vol 22 and Happy Marriage?! Vol 7

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Kaze Hikaru Volume 22 by Taeko Watanabe

So much of Kaze Hikaru deals with repressing emotions, since Sei has disguised herself as a boy in order to join the Shinsengumi and Soji has agreed to keep her secret. While Sei and Soji are clearly in love with each other, there’s a long way to go until any actual romance occurs. This volume revolved around so many feelings, as Sei has been newly assigned to Saito’s troop and Saito harbors some suspicions of Sei based on his past friendship with Sei’s brother. Saito has disturbing dreams and isn’t sure what is happening with his involuntary reactions to Sei. Saito finally figures out that Sei is a girl, and his reaction is that he’ll simply maker her quit the Shinsengumi and marry her. When Saito goes to Soji to discuss his plans, Soji encourages the marriage, telling Saito to “Make her happy.” It is interesting how effectively Watanabe explores the points of view of the characters, while Soji cares for Sei the idea of pursuing marriage with her isn’t in his worldview. He’s just going to support her while thinking of her as the man she pretends to be.

Saito’s plan begins to evolve as he sees Sei protect Soji in battle and he realizes that she’s more courageous than most of the men she knows. At the end of this volume, Sei is transferred back to Soji’s troop, where I’m sure Soji’s general feelings of uneasiness and his tendencies to lie to himself will grow even stronger. Kaze Hikaru’s detailed historical setting, clear and attractive art, and compelling story make it one of my favorite Shojo Beat titles. I wish the new volumes came out at a greater rate than once a year, because I think the deliberate pace of the story would reward readers who like to stockpile volumes and read a bunch at a time. I read every volume almost as soon as I get it though!

Happy Marriage?! By Maki Enjoiji

I enjoy reading Happy Marriage?! just because romances set in offices give me a break from all the romances set in high schools that I tend to read just because I am such a shojo manga aficionado. Chiwa continues to work in her new job, but has to deal with one of her former friends still having a crush on her. Hokuto continues to be both busy and remote, and his father is still in the hospital. Chiwa attempts to intervene to bring Hokuto closer to his family, without the results she was expecting. One sour note for me in this volume was Hokuto slapping Chiwa in the middle of an argument. While they fight and work through their issues as always, I’m starting to get a little weary of the relationship dynamic in the book. I’m also a bit more interested in some of the newer Shojo Beat series like Spell of Desire or Black Rose Alice. I’m hoping that the next volume of Happy Marriage is a bit better.

The Princess of Tennis

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The Princess of TennisAuthor: Jamie Lynn Lano
Publisher: Jamie Lynn Lano
ISBN: 9781499797527
Released: July 2014

The Princess of Tennis: The True Story of Working As a Mangaka’s Assistant in Japan by Jamie Lynn Lano is just that–a memoir written by someone fortunate enough to live the dream of so many aspiring artists. Very few non-Japanese creators have had the opportunity to work within the manga industry as an assistant or as a lead mangaka. Fewer still have written about their experiences to any great extent. In addition to working as an assistant to Takeshi Konomi (the creator of the exceptionally popular The Prince of Tennis), during her time in Japan Lano was also freelance writer, a columnist for Asahi Weekly, a host for a Japanese children’s television program, and an avid blogger. The Princess of Tennis is based on “Working As an Assistant on The Prince of Tennis,” a series of posts which can be found on her blog Living Tall in Japan. (Lano is over six feet tall, so the site is aptly named.) I had previously read some of Lano’s story online, but was happy to see it collected and expanded upon in book form with The Princess of Tennis.

After graduating with a degree in media arts and animation, Lano moved to Japan where she taught English for a few years. In 2008, Konomi Takeshi put out a call looking for assistants for a new manga series. Unlike many other mangaka, he was also considering applications from artists who had little or no experience in the industry. Lano was a huge fan of his series The Prince of Tennis and considered Konomi to be one of her idols. And so, after some encouragement from her friends, she applied for the position, never thinking that she would actually be hired. But she was. And she ended up working with Konomi, his editors, and a small group of other assistants for more than a year. (And on the sequel to The Prince of Tennis, no less!) It was a dream come true for Lano, but as enthusiastic as she was the job wasn’t always a easy. Working as an assistant on a series that she loved certainly had its perks, but it was also a challenging and exhausting experience that required long, grueling hours.

The Princess of Tennis is a personal story that is told with heart and honesty. Lano’s style is very informal, almost diary-like. Although there is some self-reflection from the very beginning of the memoir, she generally focuses on what she was feeling at the time she is describing rather than providing a detailed analysis of the situation after the fact. Lano is a self-proclaimed fangirl, something comes through in the bubbly way she writes. She makes liberal use of exclamations points (and other punctuation), employs all-caps to indicate excitement or for emphasis, and the occasional emoticon even makes an appearance in the text. She also includes very cute illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, a few delightful bonus comics towards the end of the volume, and photographs throughout the book. Lano’s enthusiasm and gratitude for the opportunity to work as a manga assistant is obvious even when things, and people, become rather difficult to deal with. The Princess of Tennis is friendly and approachable in tone, making for an entertaining as well as informative read.

In The Princess of Tennis, Lano offers an insider’s look into the Japanese manga industry and into the creative process of making manga. At first she is so excited about working as an assistant for Konomi (and understandably so) that Lano tends to overlook the downfalls of the position. The Princess of Tennis almost seems like an account that couldn’t possibly be true. Initially more time is spent participating in media events and festivals than slaving away at the drawing table. But as the volume progresses and reality and frustrations set in, The Princess of Tennis becomes much more like what I’ve come to expect based on the stories from other creators in the trade. The Princess of Tennis also offers a glimpse into what it is like to live in Japan as a foreigner and the challenges associated with that. And because Lano is revealing the details of her personal life in The Princess of Tennis there is also the drama of interpersonal relationships, romantic and otherwise, to take into consideration. While she has held onto some secrets for the privacy and sake of the other people involved, Lano is very open and forthcoming in The Princess of Tennis, providing a unique perspective on the manga industry and on Japan.